Pakistan's Next Leader Vows Better U.S. Ties

By

Yaroslav Trofimov and

Saeed Shah

Updated May 12, 2013 7:40 p.m. ET

LAHORE, Pakistan—A larger-than-expected victory in Saturday's elections made former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Pakistan's next leader, shifting the balance of power away from the military that ousted him in 1999, and from the independent judiciary that removed another prime minister less than a year ago.

With 125 of the 269 parliament seats that were contested on Saturday going to Mr. Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-N party, and another 31 secured by the independents who usually back the election's winner, the...